The Big Inch ~ Lone Star Book Blog Tours Audio Book Review, Audio Clip, & Giveaway!

THE BIG INCH

Misfits and Millionaires #1

by

KIMBERLY FISH
Narrated by Sydney Young

  
Genre: Historical Fiction / Romance / WWII Spies 
Publisher: Fish Tales Publishing

Date of Publication: August 1, 2018

Length: 10 hours, 22 minutes

Scroll down for the giveaway!

Fans of Pam Jenoff, Susan Elia MacNeal, and Kate Quinn will want to read the first book in a sparkling WWII historical fiction series, The Big Inch. Lane Mercer is a spy recovering from a disastrous mission in France when she’s assigned to protect the interests of the new federal project sending American oil to the Allies. Thrown into the high-stakes world of Texas oilmen, she’s inventing maneuvers on the fly to outwit would be counter-intelligence and Fascist sympathizers. Complicating her mission is a handsome con-artist who manages to be under her feet at the most inopportune times. Trapped between trusting her gut or trusting her informers, Lane has to learn to navigate a town that is laced with more intrigue than she’d ever have guessed, and she soon discovers that the life she might have to save. . .is her own.

Kimberly Fish’s well-researched writing drops readers into the colorful world of the American home front known so well to those who lived alongside the Greatest Generation. Buy The Big Inch today to begin this exciting first novel in a WWII series set in Texas.

PRAISE FOR THE BIG INCH: 

“Narrator Makes Book Exciting!” 

-- 5 Stars Review on Audible

“Kimberly Fish’s writing style snatched me out of my easy chair.” 

-- Vickie Phelps, author of Moved, Left No Address

“Kimberly Fish has a gift for combining conflict, emotion, and characterization to create a compelling story.” 

-- Louis Gouge, author of Love Inspired Historical Four Star Ranch series

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◆ Amazon ◆ Audible ◆

HALL WAYS REVIEW: Audio book review. 4.5 Stars. I rarely re-read books. True, it’s mostly a matter of time constraints and finding the time to read a book even once, but it’s also a matter of been there, done that. No matter how much I enjoy a story, I mostly don’t feel the need to re-visit it. Plus, there’s always a stack of new temptations waiting for me in my ever-toppling to-be-read pile. But then, The Big Inch was released as an audio book.  Since I’d reviewed the print format of The Big Inch (a fan-girling, gushing, rave review) for Lone Star Book Blog Tours, I wasn’t scheduled as a reviewer for the audio book tour.  But I couldn’t resist, bought myself an audio book copy anyhow, and listened to it the next day…straight through.  The Big Inch is a wonderful exception to my unwritten rule, and since on my second reading of the book I read with my ears, it was like a whole new story. As if immersing myself in Kimberly Fish’s world isn’t treat enough, listeners are also treated to the professional narrating debut performed by Sydney Young. 

“In her world, when trust was broken, it was final.”

When I first read The Big Inch (did I mention fan-girling and gushing?), one of the things that I loved was how author Kimberly Fish could say so much by dropping seemingly innocuous one-liners, but which careful readers would notice were loaded with information. Narrator Sydney Young picks-up on these subtleties -- and all the nuances of words spoken -- and expresses them to perfection.

“Living with her memories was no pardon at all.”

Young gets nuance and subtlety: in her delivery of the wide cast of characters, she not only gives each character a unique voice, but through her diction, varied pacing, and inflection, she projects extra layers to the characters’ personalities. The difference between Young’s delivery of main character Lane Mercer’s internal monologue versus her voice in dialogue is the perfect example. Listeners hear the contrast and see that despite Lane’s introspective, observant, and troubled mind, she has a perkier façade for the outside world.

“Though she’d never stepped on a grenade in France,

she didn’t trust Texas.”

One of the lovely aspects of Sydney Young’s narration is the authenticity of her southern accent. Certain words (soil and oil, to name two) are thoroughly Texan, others reveal just a trace of the accent, while others have a regional flair to them -- exactly right for the mixture of people from around the state who were coming to Longview during the war.

Technically speaking, the quality of the recording of The Big Inch is excellent. There are just a few glitches with uneven sound and one scene that seems spliced, but it’s thoroughly professional and what I would expect in an audio recording.  I found listening at regular speed just a little too lazy for my enjoyment, so as is the norm for me with audio books, I increased speed to 1.25x.  Sometimes, this was a little too fast (especially with Emily Tesco’s lines), but it was especially better for listening to Theo’s Boston accent.  The faster speed resolved some minor issues with too-long pauses and words with peculiar emphasis placed upon them. However, as Lane gets more emotional towards the end of the story, the faster delivery makes her sound panicked, when in reading the text, Lane seems to keep her cool.  Overall, the faster speed is a more natural pace for impatient me, but it isn’t the perfect answer.

As I do with the print version of The Big Inch, (refer to fan-girling, gushing, rave review), I highly recommend the audio book version, too. Kimberly Fish and Sydney Young make a terrific team, and I thank them for taking me to a different world for a day.  I sincerely hope that there are plans for them to reunite and bring Harmon General, book two in the Misfits and Millionaires series, to brilliant audio life.   You’ve got your first sale right here.

I bought this audio book on my own, without any strings attached. Thank you to Lone Star Book Blog Tours for giving me a bonus spot on the tour where I can voice my honest opinion – the only kind I give. 

  

Kimberly Fish has been a professional writer in marketing and media for almost 30 years. In the course of research for the Longview Chamber of Commerce 100-year compilation, she stumbled across a 1940s federal works project that was too good, too war-winning, not to be retold to modern audience. In 2017, she released The Big Inch, her first WWII spy thriller detailing the crazy, big pipeline project that fueled the Allies to a win in Europe. The Big Inch has also been released as an audio download on Audible. That eye-opening novel was so consumed by readers, she quickly followed it with a second WWII spy thriller set in Longview, Harmon General. Both of these novels will be helpful to her work with the City of Longview’s 150^th birthday celebrations which begin in January of 2020. Comfort Plans, a contemporary novel also set in Texas, continues her love of history by weaving old letters into the renovation of an iconic Hill Country farmhouse. 
Kimberly enjoys speaking on the value of weaving history and nostalgia into our plans as we grow our communities for the future. 

 ║ Website ║ Facebook ║ Twitter ║ Instagram║ Goodreads ║
║ Pinterest ║ Amazon Author Page ║  

Sydney Young is a lawyer, award-winning writer and audio book narrator from the Lone Star State. Her next theatrical project will be directing “SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE,” for the Paris Community Theatre stage (Feb. 2019), while her novel “I AM HOUSTON,” is being submitted for publication by the Loiacono Literary Agency. Sydney has long been a reading advocate, including with her readings to an adopted second grade class each year. She loved voicing THE BIG INCH for all of its authentic Texas voices and true characters, all while she learned the history of the East Texas oil effort for World War II.  Visit Sydney’s website for more information on her writings, theatre, and audio books.

║ Website ║ Facebook ║ Instagram ║ Twitter ║

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GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!

ONE WINNER! 
Choice of Audio or Signed Print Copy of The Big Inch 
+ $25 Amazon Gift Card + a WWII Themed Surprise Gift!
NOVEMBER 5-12, 2018

(U.S. Only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

VISIT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:

11/5/18	Joint Guest Post	Nerd Narration
11/6/18	Audio Book Review	Chapter Break Book Blog
11/7/18	Audio Book Review	Tangled in Text
11/8/18	Narrator Interview	StoreyBook Reviews
11/9/18	Audio Book Review	The Book Review
11/10/18	Audio Book Review	The Page Unbound
11/11/18	Guest Post	Momma on the Rocks
11/12/18	Audio Book Review	Kelly Well Read
11/12/18	Audio Book Review	Forgotten Winds
11/13/18	BONUS Audio Book Review	Hall Ways Blog

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CLICK FOR HALL WAYS PRINT COPY REVIEW